Han Learning (simplified Chinese: 汉学; traditional Chinese: 漢學;
pinyin: Hànxué), or the Han school of classical philology, was an
intellectual movement that reached its height in the middle of the
Qing dynastyQing dynasty (1644–1912) in China.

Nature and origins[edit]
Han learning began with the "evidential scholarship" (simplified
Chinese: 考证; traditional Chinese: 考證; pinyin: kǎozhèng)
movement of the late Ming dynasty, which was a reaction against the
so-called "Song Learning", or Neo-Confucianism, which had arisen
during the
Song dynastySong dynasty (12th century).
Neo-ConfucianismNeo-Confucianism had
incorporated
BuddhistBuddhist and
DaoistDaoist influences into the Confucianist
tradition, introducing a new cosmology emphasising the moral nature of
the cosmos.
Neo-ConfucianismNeo-Confucianism was adopted as Confucian orthodoxy under
the
Song dynastySong dynasty and formed the basis of the imperial examination
until nearly the end of the Qing dynasty.
Evidential scholars reacted to the innovations of
Neo-ConfucianismNeo-Confucianism by
turning back to the original classics, employing philological
techniques to try to authenticate the real words of Confucius. This
involved the comparison of different texts in great detail. This
school of learning came to be called “Han Learning” because it
sought out
Han dynastyHan dynasty commentaries as being closer to the original
texts.
Growth of influence[edit]
The fall of the
Ming dynastyMing dynasty and the rise of the
Qing dynastyQing dynasty was a
watershed in the development of this trend of philological thought.
Scholars in the evidential scholarship tradition attacked the
heterodox and subjective ideals of "Song learning" as having betrayed
the true teachings of Confucius, resulting in decadence,
individualism, and factionalism in the Ming court. This was blamed for
bringing about the fall of the Ming dynasty.
The Han Learning scholars played an important role in many
intellectual works sponsored by the Qing court. They were involved in
the Siku Quanshu, a monumental encyclopaedic project commissioned by
the
Qianlong EmperorQianlong Emperor which involved the collection of the entire
Chinese canon of studies on the mind, nature, government and humanity.
While this work was firmly grounded in Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, the
philological expertise of evidential scholars was drawn on to ensure
the authenticity of the canon. Han Learning played a major role in
providing annotations and evidential scholarship on regulations and
edicts, together with works of philosophers.
By the mid-eighteenth century,
Han learning (Yan Ruoqu, Hui Dong) had
proved that various parts of the sacred classics were in fact later
forgeries of the Han dynasty.
While it may appear to be concerned with philological minutiae, the
debate between the Neo-Confucianists and the adherents of Han learning
had considerable repercussions, weakening the cosmological
underpinnings of the imperial state, although not its political
dominance.[1] Han Learning and Song Learning were eventually blended
into a new school of thought during the late Qing.
Scholars involved included Wang Fuzhi, Gu Yanwu, Yan Yuan, Li Gong,
Dai Zhen, Duan Yucai, Ji Yun, Zhang Xuecheng, Ruan Yuan, and Liao
Ping. In the late Qing period, Han Learning appealed to many reformers
and revolutionaries such as Kang Youwei, who eventually became a
monarchist;
Tan SitongTan Sitong a fervent anti-Manchu polemicist; and Liu
Shipei a devout nationalist who was first an revolutionary and an
anarchist then a supporter of Yuan Shikai. Cui Shu went further and
rejected
Han learning in an attempt to recover pre-Han Confucianism.
Political activity[edit]
According to B. Elman, many Han Learning proponents were involved in
opposition to Heshen's clique (1746-99), thus suggesting that typical
portrayal of this group as apolitical should be reconsidered.[2]
Sundries[edit]

A remarkable parallel to the revival of
Han learning in the late
imperial period is provided by development of the Han medicine (Kampo
in Japan). Same as
Han learning stood in the opposition to the
intellectual trend of the three previous dynasties, Han medicine was a
reaction against the standard of Song-Ming medicine (the so-called
"neo-Confucianization of the body"). [2]

References[edit]

^ Confucianism-Neo-Confucianism
^ Elman, Benjamin A. Classicism, politics, and kingship: the
Chang-chou school of New Text
ConfucianismConfucianism in late imperial China.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990:283-4. [1]